French police admit they contaminated vital evidence at Alps massacre crime scene as investigators say case could remain unsolvedLatest in a catalogue of blunders which may mean 'case is never solved'Detectives had thought ‘mystery
DNA’ found might lead to the killer But police ‘expert’ ‘accidentally contaminated’ crime-scene, it is claimed

/11/22/article-2236716-159C4707000005DC-295_634x471.jpg” alt=”Prayers: Saad Al-Hilli, 50, his wife Iqbal, 47, and her 74-year-old mother Suhaila Al-Allaf, was laid to rest in the same grave last week” class=”blkBorder” height=”471″ width=”634″>

Prayers: Saad Al-Hilli, 50, his wife Iqbal, 47,
and her 74-year-old mother Suhaila Al-Allaf, was laid to rest in the
same grave in November

Mr Maillaud has failed to publicly
identify a number of key witnesses who were in the area at the time of
the shootings, and has even withheld a colour photograph of the
Al-Hillis taken minutes before the attack.

This would have been released as a
matter of routine in the UK, as a way of jogging the memories of people
who might have seen them, or their killer.

Now Mr Maillaud insists that no
‘significant’ DNA clues were left at the scene, despite work on samples
still being carried out by the IRCGN, and by Christian Doutremepuich, a
professor who runs a state-of-the-art laboratory in Bordeaux, in south
west France.

Evidence being analysed by the
scientists include bullet cartridges left at the scene, and a pistol
which mysteriously appeared to ‘break’ into pieces.

Earlier this month, the prosecutor
was forced to ‘freeze’ plans to travel to Iraq to probe the Al-Hilli’s
background in the country, because of ‘security reasons’.

News of the Iraq setback followed
revelations that Saad's 53-year old brother Zaid was interviewed by
French detectives for the first time at a location close to his home in
Chessington, Surrey.

Zaid, who lived close to his brother’s house in Claygate, has denied having any links whatsoever to the crime.

The contamination is believed to have happened at the IRCGN headquarters at Rosny-sous-Bois, north of Paris.

This is where most of the crucial evidence, including the Al-Hilli’s BMW, is still being analysed.

An ‘expert’ was examining a ‘ballistics sample’, thought to be a spent cartridge or part of the broken gun, said Mr Maillaud.

The officer ‘used his bare hands’ as he tried to analyse the evidence, leaving his DNA imprint. This error was finally picked up when the sample was sent to Professor Doutremepuich’s laboratory in Bordeaux, said Mr Maillaud.